Indie games and controversial picks head up 2016 Bafta Awards

Bafta has announced the list of nominees for the 2016 British Academy Games Awards, and it's a roster packed with home-grown talent and more than a few surprising entries.

Brighton-based developer The Chinese Room leads the pack with 10 nominations for its gently apocalyptic Everybody's Gone to the Rapture -- more than any other game this year. It gets the nod for awards in the Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, British Game, Game Innovation, Music, Original Property, and Story categories, while Merle Dandridge and Oliver Dimsdale are both representing the game for the Performer category.

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The live-action Her Story, another British indie title, created by Sam Barlow, is up for a highly respectible seven awards -- competing with Everybody's Gone to the Rapture on British Game, Game Innovation, Debut Game, and Story, while also being considered for Game Design, Mobile & Handheld, and Original Property gongs.

It's matched for seven nominations by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The exceptional open-world RPG, developed by CD Projekt RED, is up for Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, Game Design, Performer (Doug Cockle as protagonist Geralt of Rivia), Persistent Game, and Story.

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Batman: Arkham Knight picks up five nominations -- Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, British Game, Music and Mark Hamill as The Joker for the Performer category -- despite its ongoing problems, a number matched by Dontnod's time-warping adventure Life is Strange (up for Best Game, Game Innovation, actor Ashly Burch in Performer, Original Property and Story) and racing/football mash-up Rocket League (recognised in Best Game, Family Game, Game Design, Multiplayer and Sports).

Perhaps controversially, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is up for four awards -- Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Game, and Game Innovation. However, publisher Konami banned director and Metal Gear auteur Hideo Kojima from even travelling to The Game Awards last December, and had a PR representative accept the game's awards. Kojima and Konami have since parted ways, and Konami seems less interested in traditional/core video games, so it's hard to predict what may happen in the event of Phantom Pain winning any of its categories.

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The awards ceremony will take place in London on 7 April, held at Tobacco Dock. The event, hosted by comedian (and outspoken gamer) Dara O'Briein, will be streamed on Twitch, while the Bafta website will feature highlights and winners' interviews. Expect dedicated coverage on Bafta's social media outlets, with Facebook, Twitter (including the hashtag #BAFTAGames), and Tumblr all playing a part.

The full list of awards and nominees, recognising 44 games across 17 categories, follows:

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Original PropertyEverybody’s Gone To The RaptureHer StoryLife Is StrangeOri And The Blind ForestSplatoonUntil Dawn

PerformerAshly Burch As Chloe Price In Life Is StrangeDoug Cockle As Geralt Of Rivia, Witcher In The Witcher 3: Wild HuntMerle Dandridge As Kate Collins In Everybody’s Gone To The RaptureOliver Dimsdale As Stephen Appleton In Everybody’s Gone To The RaptureMark Hamill As The Joker In Batman: Arkham KnightMasasa Moyo As Vella In Broken Age: Act 2